Jim Gavin: 'The players and myself love Diarmuid Connolly'

Dublin senior football manager Jim Gavin says "the players and myself love" Diarmuid Connolly following his return to the starting 15 against Tyrone in their final Super 8s game.

The game ended in Omagh on a scoreline of 1-16 to 13, meaning Dublin topped their Group and will now play Mayo in an All-Ireland semi-final on Saturday at Croke Park. The only goal of the game came in stoppage time when Eoghan O'Gara palmed the ball into the back of Benny Gallen's net.

Connolly, the St. Vincent's clubman scored a point, and also got black carded near the end of the game. Speaking afterward, Jim Gavin said, "like any player, if they're performing well in training games, we'll give them the slots.

"There's no exceptions to that. Diarmuid loves Dublin football and Dublin GAA. The players and myself love him. He's been an outstanding servant and he's contributed an awful lot in recent weeks since he's been back with us. We're just glad to get over today's game and focus now switches to next weekend."

The Dubs are trying to win Sam Maguire for the fifth year in a row. Gavin said he was happy with the team's showing at Healy Park, "I think overall, it was a very comprehensive team performance. It's no surprise to us, we see the guys perform really well in training.

"They love playing for Dublin. They love playing in front of Dublin supporters, we'd a fantastic crowd again here today from Dublin. They're just phenomenal fans. Every time we take to the field to represent them, we're so privileged that we can come away with the performance and thankfully with two points today."

Dublin now take on Mayo on Saturday, meaning they have just a six-day turnaround - when asked how he felt about the timing, Gavin said, "I think it's fair enough. Every team has the same challenges. So, we just get on with it."

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